1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a power supplying apparatus, more particularly to a power supplying apparatus that includes multiple power-supplying units and that facilitates maintenance and repair of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional power supplying apparatus 1 for supplying electric power to electronic equipment is shown to comprise a housing 11 that is formed with a plurality of storage compartments 10. A power-supplying unit 12 is slidably disposed in each of the storage compartments 10. The housing 11 has an open rear side that is closed by a rear cover 110. A circuit board unit 13 is mounted on an inner surface of the rear cover 110 by means of screws.
With reference to FIG. 2, pairs of complementary male and female connectors 120, 130 are mounted on the rear side of each power-supplying unit 12 and on the circuit board unit 13. When the power-supplying unit 12 is disposed in the storage compartment 10, the connector 120 thereon engages the corresponding connector 130 on the circuit board unit 13 to establish electrical connection between the power-supplying unit 12 and the circuit board unit 13. Each connector 130 is connected to a respective isolating circuit 131 on the circuit board unit 13 in order to ensure that malfunctioning of one of the power-supplying units 12 will not affect normal operation of the other power-supplying units 12.
In use, an alternating current (AC) input to each of the power-supplying units 12 will be converted into a direct current (DC) power signal by a power supply circuit 121 in the latter. The DC power signals pass through the respective isolating circuit 131 before reaching a DC output circuit 132 and a DC output bus connected to the DC output circuit 132.
The circuit board unit 13 further has a detecting and alarm generating circuit 133 and a load balancing circuit 134 connected to each of the connectors 130. The detecting and alarm generating circuit 133 generates an alarm signal upon detecting the malfunctioning of any one of the power-supplying units 12. The load balancing circuit 134 operates to balance the power outputs of the power-supplying units 12.
Some of the drawbacks of the conventional power supplying apparatus 1 are as follows:
The isolating circuits 131, the detecting and alarm generating circuit 133 and the load balancing circuit 134 are all disposed on the circuit board unit 13. When any of these circuits fail, the circuit board unit 13 must be removed for replacement with a new one. During the replacement operation, it is necessary to turn off a main power switch (not shown) of the power supplying apparatus 1, to remove each of the power-supplying units 12 from the respective storage compartment 10, and to detach the rear cover 110 from the housing 11. Only then can the malfunctioning circuit board unit 13 be removed from the rear cover 110 to facilitate testing and repairing thereof, and can the new circuit board unit 13 be installed. Thus, maintenance and repair of the conventional power supplying apparatus 1 is both inconvenient and time consuming to conduct. In addition, since the main power switch of the power supplying apparatus 1 must be turned off when replacing the circuit board unit 13, the normal operation of the electronic equipment connected to the power supplying apparatus 1 is interrupted as well, thereby resulting in more inconvenience.